Troy Taylor

Chairman & CEO, Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, Tampa

Taylor, a former investment banker, opened Coke Florida in 2015 and turned it into one of the largest Black-owned businesses in the United States, with nearly 5,000 associates and generating more than 114 million cases of products each year at four manufacturing plants. It is Coke’s sixth-biggest bottler and the nation’s fourth largest Black-owned business. In addition, Taylor, a former board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta for the Jacksonville branch, leads a company that has been recognized for three consecutive years as a “Best Managed Company” by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. “Our success formula,” he says, “is rooted in investing continuously in our operations, striving to be our customers’ best partner, focusing on providing a great working environment for our associates, and supporting the communities where we operate.” The United Negro College Fund honored Taylor in March with “The MASKED Award,” which recognizes people who exemplify the values of hope, opportunity, and excellence and empowering minority students through education.